February 21st

Hello parents,
I know that you have all been enjoying the long weekends and beautiful weather.  It certainly makes February more enjoyable!  Here's what we will be doing in 3rd grade over the next couple of weeks.

Chapel/Religion
Our class is presenting chapel on March 15th.  I am planning to have the kids help write and present the chapel service.  Therefore a large chunk of our religion time will be dedicated to that.  Please join us on March 15th at 8:30 am!

Math:
We have been working on perimeter and area.  As we finish up area, we will move on to volume.

Reading/Writing:
Our language arts time is currently being dedicated to 2 things:
1. Reading the books for March Book Madness.  This is a bracket style tournament for books that is modeled after the NCAA tournament.  Voting begins March 1st on the 16 books.  Each day we read a book, choose vocabulary words from the book, and write a book review for it.  Check out our purple wall downstairs that is full of all the new words we are learning.  
2. Black History Month - We are learning about our nation's history with slavery, and working our way up to the Civil Rights Movement.  As we move into the month of March, we will be focusing on how we can make a difference in our community just like Rosa Parks, MLK Jr., and so many others did.

Science:
We are still talking about Force and Motion.  I have been trying to get the kids in the habit of reflecting on our lessons and experiments using Seesaw.  This way, you can get a good sense of what we are talking about and if your child needs some more time to grasp the concepts.

Social Studies:
Mr. Fishburn is now beginning to discuss the Judicial Branch of the United States government.

Important Dates:
March 15th - Chapel Presentation by 3rd grade

March 20th-24th: Spring Break, NO SCHOOL 

April 14th: Good Friday - NO SCHOOLApril 17th: Easter Monday - NO SCHOOL
April 27th: Grandparent's Day and Operetta

May 1st-5th: Standardized Testing Week
May 19th: Field Day
May 26th: Last Day of School - Closing Chapel at 8:45 a.m. - please join us
                 Dismissal at 11 a.m. 

February 6th

Hello parents,
It is February, sometimes the hardest month of the year.  However, this is also when I tend to come to school and realize how much the kids have grown in the past few months.  I experienced this last week.  While your kiddos are still very young, they have become so much more independent and able to problem solve.  They are learning new words, having sophisticated discussion about books and science, learning new formulas in math, and developing a stronger faith.  It is absolutely wonderful to watch and I would encourage you to challenge your kids at home as well.

Religion:
This is our last week with Mr. Bartok.  He has done an excellent job of teaching your kids about the Lord's Prayer.  Please be sure to thank him if you are in our classroom in the mornings.

Math:
We have been working on perimeter and multiplication the last couple of weeks.  This week we will be building on those concepts and begin talking about how to find the area of an object.

As I have been grading homework and tests, I am noticing that many of the kids are struggling with the tests, but do very well on their homework.  I try hard to make a point of going through their homework in class and allow them to fix their mistakes and ask questions.  I have no problem with parents helping with homework, but I would encourage you to not just give them the answers or point out mistakes.  Give them a chance to find their own mistakes.  One idea is to say, " I see 3 mistakes on this paper.  Can you find them?" This helps teach them to check their own work and look more closely at the quality of their work.

Reading:
We are wrapping up our last session of book clubs by putting a book review up on seesaw.  This week we will start a session of book clubs using picture books that focus on Black History Month.  We will be doing some cross over with Social Studies as we discuss civil rights and our nation's history with this issue.  The kids will be engaging in serious discussions and may come home with questions.  Thanks for taking the time to talk with your kids about things!

Social Studies:
We are continuing our study on the United States government.  Today the kids did a simulation that allowed them to pass a bill on the rules of soccer at CCLS.

Science:
We are still talking about magnetic force and doing experiments.  Your kids will be posting the findings of their experiment on Seesaw.

Auction
Our school auction is coming up next Saturday!  There is still time to help out or buy tickets.  Our class just needs 1 more volunteer to complete the Classroom Challenge and earn a free dress day.  Here is the link to our class grid and the volunteer sign up:
Classroom Challenge
Volunteer Sign UP

No School! - No School next Monday 2/13 and Tuesday 2/14

Valentine's Party
Our class party is this Friday at 2pm.  I will send a list of class names in an email.